The present invention, Hosta ‘Mourning Dove’, relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hosta, botanically known as a Hosta hybrida, hereinafter referred to as ‘Mourning Dove’.
‘Mourning Dove’ was selected in 2002 and originated from a controlled cross, designated 98-164, made by the inventor in 1998 in Waseca, Minn. The pod parent was a streaked variegated form of Hosta ‘Mikawa-no-yuki’ (not patented) and the pollen parent was Hosta ‘Blue Jay’ (not patented). The pollen parent, ‘Blue Jay’, is non-variegated. ‘Mourning Dove’ also differs from ‘Blue Jay’ in having a better growth rate and in having longer, more wedge-shaped leaves.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by the inventor by division in Waseca, Minn. in 2003. Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by division and tissue culture has shown that the unique features of ‘Mourning Dove’ are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.